Property Rental

Rental contracts are only valid in written form. All contracts must be registered with the Inland Revenue. The registration charge is equal to 2% of the annual rent. Four types of rental contract are permitted:

1. Free Contract
   Duration: 4 years, renewable for another 4 years.
   Rental payment: decided freely between the landlord and tenant. 
    
2. Controlled Rent Contract
   Duration: 3 years (renewable for another 2 years)
   Rental payment: lower than the average market price
    
3. Temporary Contract
   Duration: maximum 18 months

 (non-renewable)
   Rental payment: regulated by district agreements between tenants union and property owners union. 
    
4. Student Contract
   Duration: maximum 36 months

   Rental payment: defined in agreements between Right to Study organisations and student, tenant and proprerty owner unions.

Subletting

In general, the Complete Subletting of a property is prohibited. 

If the rental contract that is stipulated with the property owner does not prohibit it, it is possible to partially sublet a property, allowing other people partial use of said property. 

Whoever does sublet however, must communicate the following information to the landlord: the name and surname of the person who has sublet part of the property, the duration of his/her stay, which rooms in the property have been sublet.

Termination of rental contract

Unless there is a specific relative contractual clause or "serious motives" emerge,  the tenant cannot back out of the rental  contract  without having communicated the termination to the property owner in the following way:  termination of contract must be communicated at least six months prior to the date established and it must be sent to the property owner via registered mail. 

Eviction

Eviction is a measure taken by a judge to order a tenant to vacate and leave a property. 

There are four types of eviction: 

1. Eviction upon contract termination
   This happens when a rental contract expires (after 8 years for free contracts, after 5 years for controlled rent contracts and according to the individual expiration dates agreed upon for temporary and student contracts). 
    
2. Eviction by necessity
   This happens when the property owner needs to use the property for reasons laid down by law or to do urgent maintenance work (after the first 4 years in a free contract and after 3 years in a controlled rent contract. This type of eviction is not foreseen for short-term contracts).
    
3. 
Eviction due to arrears
   This happens when the rent is not paid. After 30 days from the payment date, the tenant who has not paid could undergo eviction procedures. If the tenant is in financial difficulty, he/she can ask the judge for an extension (maximum 90 days) to clear the payments. 
    
4. Dissolution due to non-fulfillment of contract
   For example, property abandonment, prohibited subletting, unpermitted change of tenant.